Locking mechanism for revolving bins



Patented May 15, 1951 LOCKING MECHANISM FOR REVOLVING BINS PhilipRosenberg, New York, N. Y., assignor to Universal Steel EquipmentCorporation, Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication March 13, 1950, Serial No. 149,309'

(Cl. B11-131) 6 Claims. Y 1

This invention relates to locking mechanism for revolving bins of thekind in which bin sections are mounted one above another for independentrotation upon a central upright shaft. In presently conventionalstructures of this kind diametrical openings are formed through the-central shaft at intervals for the reception of supporting cross-pins.Each cross-pin supports a bearing ring or washer, each bearing ringsupports a ball bearing, and each ball bearing rotatablysupports a ringwhich is a unitary part of a bin section. According to usual practicethe last mentioned ring is secured within a hollow sleeve, whichconstitutes the section hub, at some distance above the lower end of thesleeve, and a steadying bearing is provided in the upper end of thesleeve for rotatably engaging the central shaft.

In a structure of the kind referred to the several bin sections areindividually locked or latched against rotation. On the outer margin ofthe lower face of each bin section there is provided a notched detainingmember in which a locking lever is yieldingly retained by springpressure. A block or bracket is secured upon the central shaft beloweach bin section for pivotally supporting the locking lever of thesection. The locking lever is a bell crank lever having an inner armwhich extends downward from the pivot and which bears against acompression coil spring housed in the block or bracket.

The locking structure just described is in most respects a verydesirable one, being sturdy and efcient in use. It is, however, subjectto the drawback that it necessitates the leaving of a considerable spacebetween successive bin sections. This is true because the inner end ofthe lever and its supporting block must be of substantial height andmust stand entirely clear of both the adjacent bin sections. Since thereis no other reason for providing a wide clearance between successive binsections, the locking structure results in a wasting of space which `itwould be desirable to avoid.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improvedlocking mechanism, atleast equal in operation to that which it isdesigned tc replace, but having the advantage that it 'permits the binsections to be located much closer to one another than formerly.

This is desirably accomplished by providing a bin section locking leverhaving a forked inner end whose .arms include upturned ears, pivotingthe ears within the section hub upon the contained section supportingcross-pin, and providing a thrust spring within the central shaft to actupon the locking lever directly in line with the body of the lever.

By thus obviating the need for a separate lever supporting block betweenthe sections and outside the hub periphery, avoiding the need forofisetting the spring relative to the lever body, and disposing theoifset portions of the lever to extend upward into the hub oftheassociated bin section, enough space can be saved to permitapproximately six bin sections of normal Size, with their locks, to bemounted in the same vertical space previously required for five binsections of the same size with their locks. This is a very desirableimprovement both from the standpoint of space saving and from thestandpoint of stability. The wide spacing of the bearing ears alsoenables the locking lever better to withstand the strain when therotation of a bin section is suddenly arrested by it.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing forming part of this specification:

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of an illus-y trative revolvingbin embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary View in sectional elevation showing portionsof two adjacent bin sections of Figure 1 and the locking mechanism forthe upper one of these sections, the view being upon a considerablylarger scale than Figure 1 and being taken upon the line 2 2 of Figure1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 isa fragmentary sectional View on the same scale as Figure 2,the view being taken upon the section line 3 3 of Figure 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows; Y

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken upon the line s l ofFigure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing one of the lockinglevers engaged in the notched member of the associated bin section.

The illustrative revolving bin comprises a base 2 which supports infixed position a vertical shaft 3, the shaft desirably being hollow. Theshaft rotatably supports, one above another, a series of bin sections 49. For simplicity these sections 4 9 are all illustrated as duplicatesof one another so that a description of one will suffice for all. Eachsection is made to include a floor member I and a central sleeve orhollow hub l l The oor member lil and the sleeve Il are secured to oneanother directly, and through permanent dividers I2 which separate thebin section into compartments. Each compartment is provided with a binfront member i3 which may be made removable. The central sleeve II isformed with vertical slots adapted for use in mounting remove abledividers (not Shown) in a manner which is well understood.

At appropriate intervals the central shaft 3 is provided withdiametrically aligned openings through which pins Ill are inserted forsupporting the respective bin sections. Each pin I4 supports a ring orwasher I5, each washer l5 supports a ball bearing I6, and eachballbearing I6 rotatably supports a ring I?. The ring I'I is disposedwithin the sleeve II near the lower end thereof, is made unitary withthe sleeve in any suitable manner as by welding, and serves through thesleeve to support the bin section. The sleeve II also has secured withinits upper end a flanged ring lll which engages the shaft to serve as asteadying bearing for the bin section.

The novel locking mechanism for bin section 1, which is disposed betweenbin sections 6 and 'I, is illustrated in detail in Figures 2 and 5. Thisis typical of all the locking mechanisms, there being one such mechanismfor each bin section.

A locking lever I9 extends adjacent to, and normally in substantialparallelism with, the lower face `of the oor member i of bin section '1,with its outer end forming a handle which dem sirably protrudes outwarda short distance beyond the bin section which it controls. The leveridesirably has a square portion which is adapted to fit into a squarenotch 20 of an angle member 2l, The angle member is affixed to the doormember I9, desirably by welding. The downturned flange of the member 2l,in which the notch 2li is provided, is formed with sloping lower edges232 at DlDDOSite vSides of the notch for engaging the lever and cammingit downward. The lever is spring-urged upward, as will be .deseribed,When the bin section has been freed for rotation, therefore, it can bereturned to its locked condition simply by turning it until the leversnaps into the notch 2Q of the member 2l.

The lever I9, as best seen in Figure 3, is forked at its inner end. Theforked lever arms 23 are arcuate vin form. They extend in oppositedirections from the main body of the lever, each thro-ugh approximatelya quadrant, and are provided with Vupturned, bored, supporting ears 2liat their inner ends. The arms 23 extend in proximity to the centralshaft 3 and within the circumferential boundary of the sleeve II.

The ears 24 actually extend up into the space between the shaft 3 andthe sleeve II for a cons iderable distance. The pin I4 enters the boresof the ears 24 to pivotally support the lever I9. While the ring I5 hasbeen referred to as supported from the pin I, it does not directlyengage the pin but rests upon the ears 24. The upper ends of the ears 24are rounded to present smooth surfaces concentric with the pin I 4, sothat the pressure of the ring I5 against the ears will not objectionablyoppose rocking of the lever to and from locking position.

At a short distance below the openings provided in the shaft 3 for thepin I4, the shaft 3 is provided with another pair of diametricallyopposed openings i25 and 26, so located as to align with the body of thelever I9 when the latter is supported as illustrated from the pin I Il..The Opening 255 .is threaded t0 receive the threaded. shank of a headedbolt 2- ',Ihe bolt 21 has a reduced end portion 2.8 which serves a guidestern for a compression coil spring 25, The

spring 29 bears at one end against a shouldered portion of the bolt 21and at the other end against a surface of the lever I 9 to urge thelever I9 yieldingly in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure2. The portion of the lever I9 which is engaged by the spring 29 isformed with an enlargement or extension '39 to avoid any likelihood ofthe spring slipping off the edge of the lever. This extension may extendinto the space surrounded by the sleeve II.

The parts described can be very readily and conveniently assembled. Inmounting the section 1, for example, the bolt 21 is rst threaded intoplace, and the vspring 29 is then inserted `through the Yopening 25 ontothe stem 28 of the bolt. yThe lever I9 is next pressed against theVprotrud-ing end of the spring 29 and pushed into position to align theopenings of the ears 24 with the openings of the shaft 3 into which thepin I4 is to be inserted. The pin Ill is then inserted through the earsand the shaft. The ring I5, the ball bearing Idand the bin sectionitself are then successively put in place. The sleeve II overglies theends of the pin Id, leaving the pin very little freedom for axialmovement, and thereby preventing axial dislodgement of the pin from its`assigned position inthe shaft and in the lever ears.

It will now .be seen that a substantial saving of space as compared withthe prior construction has been realized. This has been contributed toby the following features. The locking lever has been extended :acrossthe axis of the central shaft. The :inner ends of the lever have beenturned up instead of down and extended into the space be tween thecentral shaft and the surrounding bin section hub. The former bellcranklever of the first class, having the fulcrurn at the junction of thehorizontal and the vertical arms, has been replaced by a bent lever ofthe second class hav ing the fulcrum at the ends of the upwardlyextending ears or arms. The spring has been lodged within the centralshaft and arranged to bear against the lever in line with thehorizontally extending body thereof. The result is that the adjacent binsections are required to be sep-- arated by a space of little greaterheight than the thickness of the main body of the lever.

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiment of myinvention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodimentshown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patcnt is set forth in theappended claims.

I claim:

l. In a revolving bin having a hollow central shaft and a plurality ofbin sections mounted on the shaft for independent rotation, thecombination with a bin section having a central hollow hub spaced fromthe shaft and a floor portion equipped with a notched detaining member,of a bin section supporting pin extending through the shaft andcontained within said hollow hub, a locking lever extending beneath saidsection and having an upturnecl inner end mounted on said pin, and aspring pressing against the hollow central shaft and against the leverin line with the lever body, to urge the lever body yieldingly upwardtoward the notched detaining member 2. In a revolving bin having ahollow central shaft and a plurality of bin sections mounted on theshaft for independent rotation, the combination with a bin sectionhaving a central hollow hub spaced from the shaft and a floor portionequipped with a notched detaining member, of a, bin section supportingpin extending through the shaft and contained within said hollow hub, aforked locking lever extending beneath said section and partiallyembracing the shaft and having upturned ears mounted on said pin, and aspring carried by the hollow central shaft and bearing against the leverin line with the lever body to urge the lever body yieldingly upwardvtoward the notched member.

3. In a revolving bin having a hollow central shaft and a plurality ofbin sections mounted on the shaft for independent rotation, thecombination with a bin section having a central holloW hub spaced fromthe shaft and a iioor portion equipped with a notched detaining member,vof a bin section supporting pin extending through the shaft andcontained within said hollow hub, a forked locking lever extendingbeneath said section and partially embracing the shaft and havingupturned ears mounted on said pin, said ears having rounded upper endsurfaces concentric with the pin, through which the load of the binsection is transmitted to the pin, and a spring carried by the hollowcentral shaft and bearing against the lever in line with the lever bodyto urge the lever body yieldingly upward toward the notched member.

4. ln a revolving bin having a central shaft and a plurality of binsections mounted on the shaft for independent rotation, the combinationwith a bin section having a central hollow hub spaced from the shaft anda iloor portion equipped with a notched detaining member, of a binsection supporting pin xtendingfthrough the shaft and contained withinsaid hollow hub,

a forked locking lever extending beneath said section and partiallyembracing the shaft and having upturned ears mounted on said pin, saidshaft having diametrically opposed openings disposed in line with thelever body, a compression coil spring bearing at its outer end againstthe lever body and having its rear end extended through one of saidopenings, and a bolt threaded into the other opening, said bolt having ashouldered portion for receiving the thrust of the spring, and a reducedstem portion that enters and guides the spring, the spring serving tourge the lever body yieldingly upward toward the notched detainingmember. y

5. In a revolving bin having a central shaft and a plurality of binsections mounted on the shaft for independent rotation, eachv having acentral hollow hub spaced from the shaft, and a floor portion equippedwith a notched detaining member, and a bin section supporting pinextending through the shaft and contained Within the hollow hub, theimproved section locking mechanism which comprises a forked lockinglever partially embracing the shaft and having upturned ears mounted Vonthe section supporting pin, and a spring mounted in the hollow shaft andbearing against the lever in line with the lever body to urge the leverbody yieldingly upward toward the notched detaining member of thesection controlled by it.

6. In a revolving bin having a central shaft and a plurality of binsections mounted on the shaft for independent rotation, the combinationwith a bin section having a central hollow hub spaced from the shaft anda floor portion equipped with a detaining member, of a bin sectionsupporting pin extending through the shaft and contained within saidhollow hub, a locking lever extending beneath said'section and having anupturned inner end mounted on said pin, and a spring supported in theshaft and pressingV against the shaft and against the lever below thelever axis to urge the lever body yieldingly upward toward the detainingmember.

PHILIP ROSENBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the' le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Rosenberg Mar. 20, 1945

